Challenge Tour graduate Tom McKibbin carded a blemish free eight under par 64 to hold the lead after the first round of the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour.
The Northern Irishman is playing in his first season on the DP World Tour after graduating from the Challenge Tour in November last year. He made the turn at Laguna National Golf Resort Club three under par and then three further birdies in a row from the second hole, his 11th.
'I played solid golf, a bit of luck here and there. It hasn’t been far away these last few weeks, so it was nice to see a round like that' McKibbin said.
'I’m getting pretty comfortable. It’s natural to me to come here and play now. It’s been good so far, hopefully I’ll continue like that the rest of the year.'
The 20-year-old then birdied two of his last three holes as he took a one-stroke lead over the Swedish pair of Simon Forsström and Joakim Lagergren. A score matched by Frenchman Mathieu Pavon and Finland’s Sami Välimäki who each carded seven under par rounds of 65.
In a share of sixth place on six under par is an English duo of Nathan Kimsey, last year’s Challenge Tour Number One, and Paul Waring. Joining them on that same number is U.S. Junior Amateur Champion Ding Wenyi of China.
Also teeing it up this week is Germany’s Marcel Siem, who became the 45th player in the Tour’s history to reach the milestone of 500 DP World Tour appearances.
'It’s a long time. You think about it and it doesn’t feel that long, but the numbers speak for themselves. I feel fit still, I love to play and compete out here. It’s awesome. 500 is quite a cool number. It’s awesome. The European Tour was always my family, it still is and it will always be.'
